Megan Sweeney
Trustee, SEIU Benefit Plans Master Trust
SEIU Master Trust
1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
WRITTEN MATERIALS:
The attached written materials are submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-6(g)(1) (the “Rule”) promulgated under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. Submission is not required under the terms of the Rule, but is made voluntarily in the interest of public disclosure and
consideration of these important issues.
April 26, 2022
Dear Fellow Home Depot Shareholder,
Home Depot appears not to be walking the talk
when it comes to racial equity.
In June 2020, Home Depot CEO Craig Menear stated: “We are all
confronting deep pain and anguish over the senseless killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and other unarmed Black men and women in our
country. We cannot ignore that their deaths are part of a pattern of racism and reflect the harsh reality that as a nation we are much
too far from fulfilling the promise of equal justice for all.”1 In a widely-publicized 2021 incident, however, a Minneapolis
Home Depot store suspended an employee who refused to remove a Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) logo from his apron, then told him
to stop wearing the logo or quit, which he did. A National Labor Relations Board complaint alleged that the company enforced its dress
code “selectively and disparately” against workers engaged in “protected concerted activity,” including discussing
racial discrimination and harassment, and that it constructively discharged the employee who wore the BLM logo.2
At Home Depot’s annual shareholder meeting on May 19, 2022, shareholders
can send the message that Home Depot must take concrete action, beyond diversity initiatives and philanthropy, to address racial inequities.
Item #10 on Home Depot’s proxy card, “Shareholder Proposal Regarding Racial Equity Audit” (the “Proposal”),
asks Home Depot to analyze the full range of adverse racial impacts caused by its business and operations. Doing so would allow Home Depot
to address racial inequities that are harming non-white communities and stakeholders, curbing economic growth and potentially depressing
diversified investors’ returns. The Proposal states:
RESOLVED that shareholders
of The Home Depot Inc. (“Home Depot”) urge the Board of Directors to oversee an independent racial equity audit analyzing
Home Depot’s adverse impacts on nonwhite stakeholders and communities of color. Input from civil rights organizations, employees,
and customers should be considered in determining the specific matters to be analyzed. A report on the audit, prepared at reasonable cost
and omitting confidential or proprietary information, as well as information regarding current litigation and claims of which Home Depot
has notice, should be publicly disclosed on Home Depot’s website.
_____________________________
1 https://corporate.homedepot.com/newsroom/message-craig-menear-%E2%80%93-racial-equality-justice-all
2 https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=NLRB-2021-001254&type=request
2
In its Statement
in Opposition to the Proposal, Home Depot touts its diversity, equity and inclusion (“DE&I”) efforts as well as philanthropic
endeavors. But Home Depot has an obligation to do more. Societal expectations regarding companies’ obligations around race are shifting:
Polling by JUST Capital found that 75-85% of Americans believe that companies should not only speak out against racism, but should also
“be taking concrete steps to create a more equitable future going forward.”3
The leaders of JUST, Policy Link, and FSG, a consulting firm founded by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, formulated a
“CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity.” They opined that “[c]orporate
leaders have a particularly powerful role to play in replacing racist structures, many of which have benefited those at the top, with
policies that bring us closer to racial equity—defined as ‘just and fair inclusion into a society in which all
can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.’”4
This is not only
the right thing to do; it makes good economic sense. A 2014 study estimated that eliminating the racial pay gap alone would have added
$2.1 trillion to the U.S.’s 2012 GDP.5 “Systemic racism,” Atlanta Federal Reserve President and CEO
Raphael Bostic said, last year, “is a yoke that drags on the American economy.”6
Home Depot’s
agreement to conduct a gender and racial pay audit, in response to a proposal submitted this proxy season by Arjuna Capital,7
is a positive step. The Proposal, however, asks Home Depot to look outward as well as inward to identify actions that harm nonwhite stakeholders
and communities of color.
_____________________________
3 https://www.fsg.org/blog/ceo-blueprint-racial-equity
4 https://www.fsg.org/blog/ceo-blueprint-racial-equity
5 https://www.policylink.org/sites/default/files/Equity_Solution_Brief.pdf,
at 4.
6 https://www.frbatlanta.org/about/feature/2020/06/12/bostic-a-moral-and-economic-imperative-to-end-racism
7 https://arjuna-capital.com/press-releases-archive/2022/3/3/press-release-apple-fights-racial-and-gender-pay-equity-proposal-at-annual-meeting-while-chipotle-home-depot-and-target-think-different-committing-to-disclose-median-pay-gap-data
We are not asking for
authority to vote your proxy and no proxy cards will be accepted. Please vote your proxy according to the instructions in Home Depot’s
proxy statement.
3
A racial equity audit would help Home Depot identify damaging practices
outside its own employment and business activities. For instance, police foundations buy
equipment for police departments, including surveillance technology that has been used to target communities of color and nonviolent protestors.8
They also operate outside of democratic decision making and oversight processes.9 In addition to the relationships with the
Detroit and Atlanta police foundations referenced in the Proposal, Home Depot has contributed $5,000 to the Philadelphia Police Foundation
that was used to purchase interrogation equipment.10 Home Depot’s continuing support of the Atlanta Police Foundation—a
Home Depot executive sits on its board of trustees11--is especially troubling given that foundation’s divisive payment
of $500 to each of a group of 171 Atlanta police officers who called in sick to protest charges filed against an officer for the murder
of a Black man.12 A racial equity audit would highlight these actions like this that are inconsistent with a commitment to
racial equity.
Political activities, both directly and through trade associations,
are a key avenue by which companies can reinforce or help dismantle systemic racism. A 2020 article in the Harvard Business Review
on “The 10 Commitments Companies Must Make to Advance Racial Justice” pressed companies to “[c]ommit
at least 50% of [their] lobbying expenditures to drafting and supporting bills that would improve conditions for communities of color
by increasing access to quality education and training, rebuilding infrastructure, protecting consumers, ending racial oppression, rebuilding
the safety net, achieving criminal justice reform, and
making police more accountable.”13
Home Depot’s
political activities suggest that a racial equity audit would be useful. In the 2020 election
cycle, Home Depot’s PAC gave $465,000 to members of Congress who objected to certifying the election results.5 Because
votes in places like Philadelphia, Detroit and Atlanta with large Black populations were targeted by the election nullification effort,14
support for it suggested a refusal to respect or abide by the voting decisions of non-white communities. As one account put it, “Now,
as Trump and his supporters continue to lob unsupported claims of voting irregularities and fraud [in those places], they appear to be
reviving a tradition of Black voter exclusion in the United States.”15 After
a brief pause, Home Depot’s PAC resumed contributions, and it is now the largest corporate giver to the January 6th objectors.16
For the reasons discussed above, we urge you
to vote FOR Item 10 on Home Depot’s proxy card. If you have any questions, please contact Renaye Manley via email at renaye.manley@seiu.org.
_____________________________
8 https://www.ajc.com/news/12k-cameras-give-atlanta-police-broader-window-city/P9aPd6ApEP4vezte0ZiTcO/
9 https://nonprofitquarterly.org/police-foundations-militarizing-communities-with-corporate-backing/
10 https://phillypolicefoundation.org/home-depot-supports-philadelphia-police-interrogation-equipment-with-5-000-contribution-to-philadelphia-police-foundation/
11 https://atlantapolicefoundation.org/about-us/board-members/
12 https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/170-atlanta-police-officers-called-out-sick-during-blue-flu-protests-records-show/RIDIMWuApAM0Ytmdiwx01H/;
https://policefoundations.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Police-Report-2021_10_05_FINALV3.pdf
13 https://hbr.org/2020/06/the-10-commitments-companies-must-make-to-advance-racial-justice
14 See https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/how-trump-s-legal-battles-overturn-election-undermine-black-vote-n1248866;
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigans-results-official-harm-done-black-voters-may-linger
15 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/how-trump-s-legal-battles-overturn-election-undermine-black-vote-n1248866
16 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/home-depot-biggest-corporate-contributor-to-2020-election-objectors-analysis-finds-185705617.html
We are not asking for
authority to vote your proxy and no proxy cards will be accepted. Please vote your proxy according to the instructions in Home Depot’s
proxy statement.
Home Depot (NYSE:HD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Home Depot (NYSE:HD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024